Everyone took out their weapons and readied themselves for a fight.
“I don’t care who you are,” Qin Hao said. “Quit playing these stupid tricks.”
After saying that, he swung the dagger at his hand. Its cold, sharp blade glinted as it cut through the air.
The others followed suit and brandished their blades to try and scare the intruder off.
But the man was unfazed. “Hehe.”
He stretched languidly, as if he was just lounging inside his own house.
He had a mocking grin on his face as he swept his gaze over the rest of them, a grin that told them they were overestimating themselves.
“A word of advice to you guys. If you want to come out of this place alive, I suggest that you leave as soon as possible. Otherwise…”
The man trailed off, but everyone recognized the underlying threat in his words.
Then, without warning, he threw a golden ball in their direction.
It burst into a blinding light, prompting them to look away and cover their eyes.
When the light finally subsided, they whipped around to find that there was no one on the boulder.
The man had disappeared.
…
Meanwhile, on the other side, Principal Konghad successfully led his group to the spot they had previously agreed to be their refuge.
Shortly after they arrived, they were found by the rescue team, who had been dispatched to go to the mountain on foot.
Soon, everyone was being escorted safely out of the mountain.
After the last aftershock, a lot of them had been injured, and they were generally in low spirits.
Principal Kong had the worst of it. He was battling with extreme anxiety, loss, and fear.
They had also instructed the succeeding rescue team to check out the site where the pit had appeared.
Just as they had surmised, there was indeed a disturbance in the area’s magnetic field. They couldn’t fly anything over the mountain, lest it might encounter the same fate as the helicopter from earlier.
Without the help of any machine, the task of rescuing survivors from the pit was next to impossible.
Principal Kong knew this, of course. He couldn’t very well expect these men to climb down a dark, unfamiliar hole so quickly. At the very least, they needed a careful assessment of the situation first.
But if anything were to happen to Yao Tang, he wouldn’t be able to answer to those old men.
He let out a long, defeated sigh, his eyes sunken with grief.
Lin Xin had temporarily set her pursuit of justice aside, but now that they were safe, she couldn’t stop thinking about what had happened.
She kept wishing to be the one who had fallen into the pit instead of Yao Tang.
If only she had reacted faster; if only she had sensed Chen Yi’s intentions before the evil girl had made her move.
Yao Tang wouldn’t have sacrificed herself.
Meng Yang wasn’t faring any better, either. Even so, he prayed fervently to himself. He had long since believed that hisSister Tangwas blessed by the heavens. Surely, God wouldn’t forsake her so easily.
Thankfully, the operation went underway, and the rescuers began extracting survivors who had managed to stay alive. But the more people they recovered, the more apprehensive they became.
They were moving deeper into the pit. It was only a matter of time before they found a corpse.
The atmosphere grew heavy, and the students started to give Chen Yilooks of hatred and resentment.
If it hadn’t been for her, Yao Tangwouldn’t have gone missing.
Yao Tang was the one who had assured them at the time when they were all panicking. It was because of her that they were able to make it this far. And now, they didn’t even know if she was still alive.
The students couldn’t help but feel angry over that.
As for Yao Ran, she was secretly rejoicing. Perhaps something good could come out of the earthquake, after all.
If Yao Tangdied, no one would compete with her in theYao familyanymore.Yao Ranwould be the sole young miss of the family.
The positions of campus belle and the top student would also be hers.
Best of all, Qin Manwould no longer compare her withYao Tang, and she would becomeYang Nian’s one and only fiancée.
A word without Yao Tangwould be wonderful, indeed.
Yao Ran glanced atLin Xinand the others, barely stifling the urge to laugh at their miserable faces.
Wasn’t this girl acting all high and mighty just a while ago?
Chen Yi, on the other hand, sat in a corner all by herself. She was distressed by the hostile looks she had been receiving, like she was some sort of criminal.
So what if she had pushed Lin Xin? People shoved each other all the time.
So what if Yao Tangdied to saveLin Xin? What did it have to do withChen Yi?
She didn’t tell the girl to sacrifice herself, no one did. She acted of her own volition. Besides, shouldn’t Lin Xinbe happy thatYao Tangcared for her so much?
In any case, Chen Yiwas convinced that she had done nothing wrong.
